Category — Church Planting

10.5 Ways To Overcome Fear of the “E Word”

God’s church goes forward numerically only as she gathers Newcomers unto herself. Yet it is becoming increasingly difficult for leaders, much less the regular church rank, to embrace the notion of evangelism. There is a lot of baseless fear that is associated with the ineffectiveness of the church in her outward trek. Let’s look at a number of key insights that clear the way for us to think—and act—differently toward not-yet Believers.
1. The senior leader of the local church is the primary mentor who guides the way in all things related to evangelism. A local church will rarely grow beyond the skill and passion level of her pastor. As that person does, so does the local church, for better and for worse. It is a heavy burden to bear but it is the reality of life. Most of the time, not surprisingly, the pastor of the local church is not naturally gifted at evangelism. The key word is “naturally.” He is usually more introverted and oriented toward speaking and teaching gifts. He would rather spend time studying than out with people trying to actively lead them to salvation. That’s okay. God can take a person like that and bring about exciting change. Remember this important principle: as a pastor changes so changes the local church. God isn’t interested in a pastor’s natural gifting. God tends to use us most profoundly in the areas where we lack a natural inclination. It is there we lean the most into God for strength and results.
To the degree the senior leader owns his responsibility in leading the way for evangelism God will be able to break through and do something significant. Until the senior leader owns this role little will happen. Tell God you are willing to step up. He will impart his desire. Then step out.

It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

– Somerset Maugham

One of my ongoing frustrations in Servant Evangelism has come in seeing people verbalize the Good News. The tendency of human nature is to speak little in the context of serving others. It is rather easy to recruit people onboard with the serving part of equation (the “S”). The evangelism (the “E”) is more challenging. Works of love are powerful in themselves, but without an accompanying verbalization of WHY we are doing these things we are cutting things significantly short. In other words, we need to live out a capital S and a capital E lifestyle.

Janie and I have taken on a new adventure in ministry—we have begun to lead a Methodist church in the Greater Portland area. This is an established church that has been around for a long time. Though they have a heart for missions, these folks are new to the sort of local church outreach we bring. This is a common phenomena in conservative churches across the US. We have momentous plans to build a heart for our community into the mix this year through Servant Evangelism and ministry to the poor. The poor are never far away.
We are going to move out into the community in teams to engage the community…soon, but not quite yet. I have typically been a Ready, FIRE!, Aim leader when it comes to launching new things. I’ve not been cautious—I’m still not. However I’ve decided to not take that tact this time around. My vision now is to involve as many people as possible. I am going to begin with a solid prayer backing. Thus we are going into the community to practice prayer walking in teams of 3 or 4. It’s the basic discipline you may have heard of—going about the city praying under our breath, asking God to show us the spiritual state of things, looking for insights, then coming together to compare insights afterwards. We go out for an hour or so then meet up at Taco Bell for a taco and a time to download.
Too much prayer walking and the likes can be a substitute for obedience in outreach. On the other hand, not praying is arrogance—it’s activism without dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Let’s live somewhere in the middle. As my friend Bill Jackson calls it, the “radical middle.”

Missouri Is Happening

I just got back from a trip to Missouri – I was in Springfield and Columbia. The kingdom is alive and well in both places. People are excited about extending the kingdom in big ways. I am thrilled to be included in what the Father is doing these days. I grew up in Kansas – in the Wichita area. I was inclined to think that the people who live in Missouri – and who follow Missouri sports teams especially – were a little off kilter. Such categorical thinking goes with the territory of growing about anywhere I guess.

Today God is on the move in a big way in good ‘ol Missouri. It is exciting to meet people who have been persevering in serving, praying and connecting with their community. I mentioned during one talk that I have planted several churches and, “who knows, maybe I will end up here in Missouri one day.” Four people came up to me after I finished talking to further inquire about my church planting plans. I was making a comment in passing, but it certainly was encouraging to hear the hearts of a number of people who are looking for cool spiritual things to happen in the Show Me State.

ServeCoach.com is live and open for registration!

Head over to http://www.servecoach.com to try and snag one of those Fast-Mover Bonuses!

See you there!

Steve